Combined gas generator and heater



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct. 27, 1942. E. ACHTERMAN COMBINED GAS GENERATOR AND HEATER Fiied Oct. 11,1939

INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS.

59/1 557- Acarze/ww I I I I 1/ I l 1/ 1 1/ 1 11 1 Oct. 27, 1942. ACHTERMAN 2,300,244

COMBINED GAS GENERATOR .AND HEATER Filed Oct. 11, 1939 2 Sheets-SheetZ tie/V4297- Ac/v'raem/w 33 INVENTOR- BY mu w/rwsssr J0 W? I ATTORNEYS. I

Patented Oct. 27, 1942 COMBINED GAS GENERATGR AND HEATER Ernest Achterman, Westficld, N. J., assignor to Mauro Novello, Scotch Plains, N. J.

Application October 11, 1939, Serial No. 298,919

4 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements-in gas generators and more specifically to a combined gas generator and water heater.

One of the important features of the invention resides in an apparatus by which oil may be converted into gas, and a proportionate amount of the gas utilized as a fuel for the burner which is required for the heating of the oil to the proper temperature during the conversion operation.

Another feature of the invention is to provide a gas generating apparatus in which the 'waste heated gases of combustion of the gas operated burner are utilized for the heating of water.

A further feature of the invention is the provision of an apparatus which is capable of heating oil to a degree to crack the same into gasoline gas, or which may be modified tointroduce water in the oil supply and by cracking of the oil and vaporizing of the water, produce what is commonly known as blue gas.

A still further feature of the invention is to provide an apparatus capable of performing the above mentioned results, which is constructed in a single unit with the parts so arranged to insure efficient and economic operation regardless of whether the unit is built small for domestic, use,

or relatively large for commercial purposes.

Other features of the invention will be apparent as the following specification is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, ,in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of the combined gas generator and water heater.

Figure 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view through the booster pump, the parts being shown at the end of a pumping stroke in full lines, and in normal position in dotted lines.

Figure 3 is an enlarged horizontal sectional View on the line 33 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is an enlarged horizontal sectional view on the line 44 of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail vertical longitudinal sectional view through the automatic gas and air valve, the parts being illustrated in full lines when in open position, and'in dotted lines when in closed position.

Figure 6 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of automatic gas and air valve with the parts shown in open position in full lines and in closed position in dotted lines.

Figure 7 is a detail side elevational view of the oil reservoir and a water supply tank which is essential for the making of blue gas.

Referring to the drawings by reference char- I an oil supply reservoir 3|.

acters, the numeral I0 designates my improved 55 gas generator and heater in its entirety, which includes an outer enclosed metal casing ll having an air opening I2 in the top thereof and a base or supporting legs I3 at the bottom thereof. The casing II is preferably cylindrical and is provided with an outer coating of heat insulating material l4. Within the outer casing II is an enclosed inner metal casing I5 which issupk ported by brackets or the like I6, in spaced relation to the outer casing to provide an air space I! which communicates with the atmosphere through the air opening I2. The top wall of the inner casing I5 is provided with a flue outlet I8 with which one end of a flue pipe I9 is connected. The flue pipe I9 may lead to a chimney or stack, not shown.

The inner casing I5 is preferably cylindrical in shape and supported by the annular side walls thereof is a circular vaporizer 20. The vaporizer comprises a hollow metal body 2! having a central opening 22 in its top wall and a plurality of conical shaped flue tubes 23 which open through the top and bottom walls. The flue tubes 23 are radially arranged and may consist of one or more circumferential rows, with the tubes of the rows arranged in staggered relation. The vaporizer 20 is disposed in engagement with the side walls of the inner casing I5,'and"on a horizontal plane in spaced relation to the top and bottom walls thereof.

Supported upon the top of the vaporizer 20 and secured thereto by bolts or the like is a pressure tank 24. The top of the tank is closed by a wall 25 and the top of the tank extends through an opening in the top Wall of the inner casing but terminates short of the air opening I2 so as not to fully close the opening. The top wall 25 is provided with a passage 26, one end of the passage 26 communicating with the upper end of a tube 21 which is connected to the top wall 25 and which depends therefrom to a plane with in the vaporizer body 2!. The lower end of the tube 2'! is closed and the side walls of the tube adjacent the bottom closed end are provided with radially arranged spray openings 23. The other end of the passage 26 is connected by one end of a vertical pipe 29 which rises upwardly and joins a horizontal pipe line 30 which leads to A manually operated control valve A is arranged in the pipe 29. The oil reservoir receives its supply of oil from an oil supply pipe 32 and the level of oil in the reservoir is controlled by a float controlled valve mechanism 33 to prevent overflow of the reservoir. The pipe 30 enters the reservoir below the level of the oil therein, thus oil will flow by gravity to the tube 21, by way of the pipe section 29 and the passage 26. However, I prefer to inject the oil into the vaporizer under pressure and for such reason, I employ a booster pump 34 which is connected to the pipe section and operated by gas pressure which is built up within the pressure tank 24 in a manner to be fully explained hereinafter. The pipe section 30 is provided with two spaced check valves and 35 which are respectively disposed at opposite sides of the connection between the pipe section 30 and the pump 34. The valve 35 pre vents the back flow of oil forced under pressure by the pump of the tube 21 after each pumping stroke thereof, whereas the valve 35 prevents the back flow of oil from the pump 34 to the reservoir 3| during the idling action of the pump;

Mounted in a well W provided in the bottom of the inner casing l5 centrally thereof, is a gas torch-like burner 37 which includes a vertically disposed cylindrical casing 38 in which a piston 39 is slidably mounted. The top of the casing 38 is provided with a passage 39 surrounded by a valve seat through which a stem 4! passes. One end of the stem is fixed to the piston 39 and the other end has a valve head 42 which regulates the flow of gas through the passage 49 depending upon the pressure of the gas flowing to the burner. the casing 38 through a passage 43 provided in the bottom wall of the inner casing l5 and which passage is connected to the upper end of the pressure tank 24 by a pipe line 44. Gas from the pressure tank 24 is intended to pass to the burner 31 and for manually shutting off and turning on the flow of gas, a shut-off valve 55 is provided in the pipe line 44. The valve head 42 is-normally held away from im seat by the upward force of a spring 46 interposed between the piston and bottom wall of the cylinder but which spring yields under the force of excessive gas pressure acting against the. upper face of the piston 39. Whereas the piston 39 is provided with sealing rings, the joint between the cylinder and the piston is further sealed by mercury 47 or other equivalent liquid metal, which is contained in the lower end of the cylindrical casing 38 and in a communicating well 48. Threaded to the upper end of the cylindrical casing 33 is a gas jet 49 which is enclosed by and disposed in spaced relation to a hollow bell shaped member 50 which is formed with a gas and air chimney-shaped nozzle 5|. The lower end of the member 50 opens through the bottom of the inner casing and has communication with the air space I! between the outer and inner casings l I and I 5. The stream of gas rising from the jet 49 will mix with heated air drawn into the member 50 and the combustible mixture of gas and air will be discharged from the nozzle 5! which when lighted, imparts a torch flame to the underside of a converter 52.

The converter 52 is suspended by the vaporizer 2D and is disposed directly above and in spaced relation to the burner 37. The gas converter 52 includes a circular or other shape relatively flat disk-like body 53 having a continuous circuitous passage 54 therein which extends from a centrally located inlet 55 to an outlet 55 at the side thereof. A cover 5'! is bolted to the top of the body 53 and any form of sealing joint may be provided between these parts. A nipple 53 rises upwardly from the center of the cover and threads into an opening 59' provided centrally in the bottom wall of the vaporizer. body 2|. Oil vapor Gas generated by this apparatus enters from the vaporizer 20 enters the converter 52 through the nipple 58, and the passage of the vapor from the inlet 55 to the outlet 56 is prolonged by reason of the back and forth flow of the same through the circuitous passage 54 to assure that the heat from the flame of the burner 31 converts the oil vapor into gas, prior to its reaching the outlet 56. A pipe 59 connects the gas outlet 55 of the converter with the lower portion of the pressure tank 24. A heat deflector E5 is supported by the nipple 58 directly above the converter 52 and extends beyond the plane of to includes an upright cylindrical casing 6! divided by a transverse wall 52 into an upper chamber 63 and a lower chamber 64. The bottom of the casing is provided with a tubular extension 6| which threads into the top of the pressure tank 24 so that the lower chamber 64 is always in communication with the interior of the tank 24 in which generated gases accumulate. Slidable in the upper chamber 63 is a piston 55 having a depending guide pin 66 which slides through a bearing 61 on the wall 62. The guide pin prevents turning of the piston relative to the casing 6i An expansion spring 58 is interposed between the top of the casing SI and the upper face of the piston 65 and is of a predetermined tension when compressed to rapidly move the piston down when the gas pressure on the undersideof the piston drops below a predetermined degree.

' A short pipe 69 connects the top end of the casing 6| to the pipe section 35 at a point intermediate the check valves 35 and 36. The partition wall 62 is provided with a port 15 for establishing communication betweenthe chambers 63 and 64, and the lower end of the port is formed with a beveled valve seat H against which a beveled Valve 72 seats when the piston55 is in an up position. A stem '13 rises from the valve 12 and passes through the port 19 and its free end is connected to one end of a flexible element in the form of a chain 14, the other end of the chain being fastened to the underside of the piston 65. The valve stem 13 is provided with a slot 1.5 through which one arm of a bell crank lever 16 extends. The bell crank is pivoted in a bearing provided on the wall 62, and the said wall is formed with a recess 1'! to accommodate the workings of the bell crank lever and a pivoted valve 18 which closes an outlet port 79 in the 1 side wall of the casing, which port opens into the recess. The other arm of the bell crank is pivotally connected to a link which link is pivoted to the valve 18. The bottom wall of the recess 11 is inclined toward a drain opening T! which leads to the port 19 to prevent accumulation of any oil which may be condensed from the gas while present in the chamber 63. When the valve 12 is 'in open position the valve 78 is closed, and when the valve 72 is closed, the valve 18 is open, the relative position of the valves being controlled by the lever connections between the valves, and actuated by the up and down pumping strokes of the piston 65. Gas exhausted through the port 19 is led by a pipe line 8| to the top of the reservoir 33, and the heat therefrom acts to preheat the supply of oil contained therein. The gas which enters the reservoir eventual 1y becomes cool and condenses therein. When the apparatus I0 is to be used for the making of blue gas as Will be hereinafter explained, the pipe 8| is connected to the gas storage tank (not shown) or to the feed pipe leading thereto at a location beyond the outlet side of the automatic gas check valve presently to be described.

Should the pressure of the gas in the pressure tank 24 become excessive, the operation of the pump 34 may be slowed down or stopped should such condition arise. To regulate the operation of the pump, a pipe 83 has one of its ends entering the pressure tank 24 through the top thereof while the other end of the pipe terminates adjacent the pipe line 9| and has a pressure responsive expansion and contraction device 89 connected thereto. The device 84 is operatively connected to the actuating handle 85 of a valve 8B, the latter being arranged in the pipe line 8|. When the device 84 is in contracted position the valve 86 is open, but as the device 84 expands under excess gas pressure, the valve is gradually moved to partially or fully closed position, thus interfering with the free operation of the pump.

Generated gases which accumulate within the pressure tank 24 are taken off through an outlet pipe 8! which enters the tank adjacent the top thereof and which pipe may be led to a gas storage tank (not shown) for use of the gas as and when desired. An automatic gas and air check valve 89 is arranged in the pipe 81 and which valve is shown in detail in Figure 5. The valve 88 includes a cylindrical casing 89 having an inlet chamber 99 and an enlarged outlet chamber 9I. The inlet chamber 99 contains a partition wall 92 having openings 93 therein. A beveled valve portion 94 is provided centrally on the wall 92 and faces toward the outlet chamber 9!. and nonrotatably mounted in the inlet chamber 99 is a hollow sleeve valve body 95 having a flat end wall 95 in confronting relation to the partition wall 92. Threaded in the wall 96 is a sleeve member 9'! having a relatively small orifice 99 and having its nd provided with a seat 99 conforming to the shape of the valve member 94 for seating engagement therewith when the valve is in closed position as shown in dotted lines in Figure 5. The sleeve valve body 95has its other flat end Wall 99 disposed within the outlet chamber 9! and which end is provided with an annular beveled flange I99 which engages a beveled seat I9I provided at the shoulder between the chambers 99 and 9| when the valve is in closed 5 position. The sleeve valve body 95 is provided with an opening I92 which registers with a port I93 when the valve is in open position to admit air into the valve body for mixture with the gas as it passes therethrough. The valve body 95 is also provided with a plurality of outlet ports I94 which open into the outlet chamber 9I when the valve is open, these ports being closed by the side walls of the chamber 99 when the valve body is in closing position. The inner side of the end wall 99 is conical shape as at I95 to guide the gas toward the outlet ports I94 as it leaves the orifice 98, the apex of the conical deflecting surface being in axial alinement with the orifice 98. A partition wall I99 is provided in the chamber 9! and has outlet openings I91 therein. A stem I93 extends from the end wall 99 of the valve body 95 and slides through the partition I99. An expansion spring I99 is interposed between the partition wall I95 and the end wall 99 of the valve body to normally urge the valve body to valve closing position as illustrated in dotted lines in Figure 5. When the pressure of the gas on the outlet side of the valve 88 is greater than the Slidably I pressure on the inlet side, the valve is closed by 75 engagement of the valve member 94 with-the seat 99 at which time the beveled flange I99 is engaging the seat IM to prevent flow of gases from the outlet side of the valve to the inlet side thereof.

Mounted within the inner casing I5 and encircling the pressure tank 24 is a water-back III) which receives water to be heated from a water inlet pipe II I. A hot water outlet pipe II2 leads from the water-back to a hot water storage tank (not shown) whereby water heated in the waterback I !9 may be stored for use when desired.

Assume that it is desired to start the combined gas generator and heater I9, and that the 'oil reservoir 33 is filled with fuel oil to be converted into gasoline gas. It will be understood that the outer and inner casings I I and I5 may be provided with suitable doors for permitting access to the various parts enclosed therein. The operator opens the valve A and permits oil to flow through the pipes 39, 39, passage 29, into the tube 2?, and from where it enters the vaporizer 29. Assume that there is no gas in the pressure tank 24 for supplying the burner 31. In such case the well W is filled with oil and lighted to provide heat which is necesary to convert the oil which may have reached the converter 52 from the vaporizer 29. As the oil in the converter 52 and vaporizer 29 becomes heated by the starting re in the well W, the same is first converted into an oil vapor, and the oil vapor is converted into gas by the converter 52 from where it passes through the pipe 59 to the pressure tank 24 for temporary storing. After a supply of gas has been built up in the tank 24, it is first utilized for operating the burner 31. The gas leaves the tank 24 and flows to the burner through pipe 44, passage 43, burner casing 38, and thence through the jet 49 where it mixes with air in the member 59 and the mixture becomes ignited at the nozzle 5!. The air which mixes with the burner gas enters the air space I! through the opening I2 and is preheated during its passage downward between the casings II and I5. Should the pressure of the gas entering the burner casing be excessive, the flow is lessened by the movement of the valve 42 toward its valve seat 49, the excess gas pressure acting upon the piston 39. Assume that the gas initially generated by the starting fireis sufiicient to supply the burner 31 and that the burner is operating instead of the starting fire. heat from the burner acting primarily upon the converter 52 and secondarily upon the vaporizer 29 causes the oil fed to the vaporizer to become vaporized, and the oil vapors are transformed into gas by the heat directly imparted to the converter and the hot generated gas is led to the pressure tank 24 through the pipe 59. When the gas in the tank 24 reaches a predetermined pressure, it acts to actuate the pump 34. Assume that the piston 95 is down, the port I9 is open and the valve I9 closed. Gas from the tank 24 will enter the chamber 93 and the pressure thereof will push the piston 65 upwardly against the tension of the spring 58. As the p ston moves upwardly, the valve I2 closes the port 19 and the valve '58 opens, thus releasing the gas from the chamber 93 into the pipe 8! which conveys it to the top of the reservoir 33 for preheating the oil supply contained therein. As the pressure of the gas in the chamber 63 drops, the spring 68 quickly moves the pistondownwardly to enable a fresh supply of gas to enter the chamber-93 and again'force the piston upwardly. This cycle of operation continues intermittently and the pumping impulses imparted to the oil in the oil feed pipe 29 acts to force the oil through the orifices 28 in the form of a spray. The oil therefor enters the vaporizer 20 in spray form and is thus broken up before contacting the walls of the vaporizer body 2| and the walls of the flue tubes 23. As the sprayed oil contacts these heated surfaces, the same is vaporized into oil vapors which flow into the converter 52, and by reason of the direct heat imparted to the converter, the oil vapors are converted into gas which passes to the tank 24 through pipe 59. The accumulated gas within the pressure tank is carried off for use of storage through the pipe 81, for the pressure causes the automatic check valve 88 to open and admit air for mixture with the gas by reason of the registration of the opening I02 with the air port I03. When the pressure of the gas in the tank 24 drops below a certain amount, the valve 38 closes until such time as the pressure of the gas again builds up to the proper amount. Thus, the valve 88 functions as a check valve and as a gas and air mixing valve. As previously explained the operation of the pump 34 may be slowed down or stopped by the automatic pressure controlled valve 86 should the pressure in the tank become dangerously excessive.

The waste gases of combustion from the gas burner 3'! after passing upwardly through the flue tubes 23 serve to heat the Water-back III], after which they are carried off by the flue pipe I9. The hot water from the water-back may be stored in a hot water storage tank or used for any other desired purpose.

In Figure 6 of the drawings, I have illustrated a modified form of gas and air valve II3 which might be used in lieu of the valve 88. The valve II3 comprises a casing H4 having a gas inlet H5 at one end and a gas and air outlet H6 at its other end. The inlet end of the casing is cylindrical and slidably supports a sleeve like valve body II'I having an enlarged flat head H8 which is disposed in an enlarged chamber H9 at the outlet end of the casing. The casing adjacent the inlet end is provided with a partition wall I30 from which a conical valve element I 2I extends, and which passes through a hole I22 in the flat front end wall of the valve body I I1. When the valve body II! is in open position as shown in full lines, an opening I23 in the side wall thereof registers with an air port I24 in the casing II4 to admit air for mixture with the gas entering the chamber I25 through the hole 22, and which chamber is formed by a dividing partition I25. The partition I 26 has a central orifice I 2'! to enable the mixture of gas and air to enter the chamber I28 and escape into the outlet chamber II9 through outlet openings I29. A spring I3I! is interposed between the outlet end of the casing H4 and the enlarged head H8 to normally urge the valve body III to closed position with the valve member I2I in sealing engagement with the walls of the hole I22. To prevent leakage from the outlet side of the casing II4 to the inlet side when the valve is closed, the head H3 is provided with a flange I3I which seats against a seat I32. Pressure from the gases entering the inlet' I I5 act against the adjacent flat end wall of the valve body II! to move the valve body to open position, and when the pressure of the spring I30 overcomes the pressure of the incoming gas, the valve body moves to closed position as shown in dotted lines.

In Figure 7 of the drawings I have illustrated a slight modification whereby the apparatus III may operate to produce blue gas (ordinary illuminating gas) as distinguished from gasoline gas heretofore referred to. To produce blue gas it is only necessary to introduce water into the oil feed to the spray tube 21. The water and oil are first converted into Water vapor'and oil vapor, and these vapors when subjected to a high heat temperature produce blue gas. Thus I have shown a water supply tank I33 which is joined to the oil feed pipe 30 by a pipe I34 in which a regulating valve I35 is arranged. The water tank I33 is disposed above the plane of the oil reservoir 33 whereby water may gravi tate into the oil pipe 30 and be carried along with the oil to be fed to the spray tube 21. The pressure of water with the oil when subjected to the heat of the walls of the vaporizer 20 and the intense heat of converter 52 produces blue gas which performs the same functions in the apparatus as does the gasoline gas which is generated from oil alone. The valve I35 may be set to a position to admit a proportionate amount of water to a proportionate amount of the oil flow. The water in the tank I33 may be replenished by a water supply pipe I35 in which a control valve I3! is arranged.

In the making of blue gas the air ports Hl3and I24 of the valves 88 and II 3 respectively, are plugged or omitted, for it is not neces sary to mix air with the blue gas prior to its use as a gas fuel.

While I have shown and described a construction which will produce the result desired, I wish it to be understood that various other details of construction may be resorted to without departing from the general combination and relation of parts hereinafter set forth in the appended claims.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is:

l. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combination, an oil vaporizer and converter unit, a gas burner so positioned as to heat the oil vaporizer and converter unit, a gas accumulator chamber above said unit in open communication therewith and having a gas 01T- take, an oil supply reservoir, an oil feed line connecting said reservoir with said unit including a tube extending through said gas accumulator chamber and having a spray nozzle disposed in said unit whereby oil from the spray nozzle is introduced into said unit and converted into hot gas by the heat from said burner for accumulation in the gas accumulator chamber, and low pressure responsive pump means in the pipe line and operatively connected to the gas accumulator chamber and operable by the low pressure of gas which accumulates therein for boosting the pressure of the flow of oil through the pipe line to forcibly discharge oil from the spray nozzle.

2. An apparatus of the class described as set forth in claim 1, including a gas exhaust for the pressure responsive pump means, and means for conveying the hot gas from the gas exhaust of the pump means to the oil reservoir for use in preheating the oil supply contained therein.

3. An apparatus of the class described comprising in combination, a casing having a flue opening at the top thereof, a vaporizer mounted in said casing, said Vaporizer including a hollow body having flue tubes through which waste heated gases of combustion may pass, a cona converterdevice comprising a substantially flat plate like body adapted to be supported above a burner and having an oil vapor inlet centrally in the top thereof and a gas outlet opening through the side of said body, and a circuitous passage connecting oil vapor inlet with said gas outlet whereby oil vapor may be converted into gas during its travel through said circuitous passage When the underside of the plate-like body 10 is subjected to intense heat.

ERNEST ACHTERMAN. 

